The document provides tips for writing content for the web. It notes that users skim web pages rather than read them thoroughly. It recommends writing content that is skimmable, concise and useful by using techniques like the inverted pyramid structure, reducing word count, using subheadings and lists, making links descriptive, using active voice and including calls-to-action.

1. Writing for the Web
28 April 2012

2. People don’t read websites.
They skim them.
Users skim because:
• They’re in a hurry
• The page might not be what they’re looking for
• They know they don’t have to read everything
• It doesn’t matter if they click the wrong link.

3. Users usually know what they’re looking for.
People visit your website to complete a task.
They glance over a page, looking for something
that resembles what they are looking for, or
something interesting.
People look for:
• Keywords
• Subheadings
• Lists
• Links.

4. This changes how you write for the web.
Your goal is to make your website’s content:
• Skimmable
• Concise
• Useful.

5. Know your audience.
Think about who is going to read the page you
are writing.
• How did they find your page?
• What do they want?
• What do you want to communicate to them?
• What language will they be familiar with?
Write your content specifically for the people
who are going to read it.

6. Write journalistically.
The inverted pyramid gives users the most
important information first.
Summary
The summary, or content overview, should
immediately convey the purpose of the page or Key information
paragraph (1-2 short sentences).
Other details
The user can move on if it’s not what they’re
looking for.

7. The content overview sums
the rest of the page up
Write journalistically.
The inverted pyramid gives users the most
important information first.
The summary, or content overview, should
immediately convey the purpose of the page or
paragraph (1-2 short sentences).
The user can move on if it’s not what they’re
looking for.

8. Omit needless words.
“Get rid of half the words on each page, then get
rid of half of what’s left.” – Krug’s Third Law of Usability
By doing this, you will:
• Make pages shorter and more skimmable
• Make useful content more prominent
• Encourage users to read your page.

9. Be concise and to-the-point.
Eliminate small talk. Web readers just want to
get to the content.
• Convey only one idea per paragraph
• One topic per page
• Write short sentences.
If it doesn’t contain useful or important
information, delete it.

10. Use subheadings.
Subheadings will:
• Make your content skimmable
• Make relevant content stand out
• Point out keywords
• Break up long pieces of content.

11. Use lists.
Bulleted lists are easier to scan than paragraphs
and add visual variety to a page.
• Limit lists to 7 items.
• Use boldface to highlight the key message of
the list item
• Use numbered lists only when there is a
hierarchy of information.

12. Create meaningful links.
Web readers use links to skim pages. They stand
out from regular text.
• Links must describe what a user will get when
they click them
• Never use click here as a link.

13. Use active voice.
Active voice reduces the amount of effort a user
needs to exert to understand what you mean.
Don’t use passive voice.
Update your contact information in your member
profile.
vs
New contact information can be updated on your
member profile page.

14. Tell your readers what to do.
Think about what do you want the user to do
once they’ve read your page.
A call-to-action tells the user what to do next.
e.g.
• Learn more about xyz.
• Subscribe to our newsletter.

15. Summary
• Make your content skimmable
• Write for the page’s audience(s)
• Use the inverted pyramid
• Reduce word count and be concise
• Use subheadings
• Use lists
• Make links part of your copy
• Use active voice
• Use call-to-actions.